- Ko tu ki runga, ko tu ki raro, ko tu ki whea whea, tu haka putaina ki te whaiao, ki te ao marama. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 Hoki mai ano e nga iwi. Ngati Kahungunu uri Migoto Eria has been searching for her Hapani father most of her life. Clues and handwritten letters discovered after her mother's death launched her journey to find him. We got a huge reaction when John Boynton's story played last year, so, if you missed it, here it is again ` Letters to Migoto. (RECORD PLAYER CRACKLES) (CLASSIC JAPANESE ROCK SONG PLAYS) - Music puts you in a certain time period. I love Japanese '80s pop. Play it every day. The reason why I went down that track was because I have a couple of my father's mixtapes. I've spent my whole life wondering where my papa is. (SONG ENDS) Ko te ingoa o toku mama ko Rangi Hirini Eria tona ingoa. Ko toku papa ko Osamu Nakamoto no Hapani ia. I've never met anybody else (CHUCKLES) half Japanese, half Maori before. Just me. (PENSIVE MUSIC) - 41-year-old Migoto Eria was just a child when her father, Osamu Nakamoto, disappeared from her life. - There's a father that has lost years on knowing who his daughter is. I lost Mum six years ago. After packing down her whare after her passing, there was, um, a whole lot of letters from Nakamoto... and an address book from the time where she was in a relationship with him that I'd never seen. Mum was a very private person, particularly around her private affairs. I'd spend hours reading Nakamoto's letters. There are lots of little clues with emotion, feelings. READS: 'You perhaps are wondering what in the world I am doing. 'I haven't given up on sea life. 'On board at 23rd of April 1985. 'Now voyage from the Northern Ocean via the Panama Canal, 'and sometime I'll come by the coast of New Zealand.' - Migoto's father was an engineer working onboard this vessel ` the Sunny Napier. Shipping records reveal it routinely transported logs between Napier and a Japanese port called Tomakomai in the late 1970s and early '80s. It was during one of these visits that Nakamoto met Migoto's mother, Rangi Eria. - They had quite an extended relationship before I was born. And they were very much in love. - Theirs was a long-distance relationship. Wherever he was in the world, he still kept in touch. - Some of my earliest memories ` in the middle of the night, and Mum's woken me up to go and pick the phone up, and Nakamoto's on the other end. I was only, like, 4. I remember hearing his voice. 'Hello, Papa,' and so I'd just stand there and listen. Nakamoto sending gifts to us was a real treat. It was like all of our Christmases that we never had all in one. - Migoto was 6 when the taonga and phone calls stopped coming. - When I was 9 or 10, I remember saying to Mum, 'I think I wanna send Nakamoto and letter.' Cos won't he want to know what I'm doing, you know, what am I up to? And I put together a letter. And that was a letter that came back. And I remember when it came back and Mum saying, 'Oh, this doesn't surprise me. 'He's moved.' And that was the end of the conversation. - Migoto's mum never wanted to discuss her relationship with Nakamoto. - She'd just go completely quiet. And that, to me, you know, when I was growing up` like, 'Oh, OK.' And she definitely did not share her feelings about him. - Migoto's only learning about her father through the letters she found after her mother's death. - READS: 'I understand your feelings. 'I cannot find words to express what is in my heart.' - In one of Nakamoto's last letters ` - 'I guess I'll say sayonara to you for now. 'Please remember me. Lots of love, Osamu Nakamoto.' Expressing his love for her... in a sense of, 'It's not finished yet. I wanna know how you feel. 'I haven't heard back from you.' Did Mum actually write back? And I'm convinced she didn't. I hadn't actually thought about the similarities between the mahi that I do and this journey, but I guess there are` there are lots. My mahi at Te Papa Tongarewa ` I'm the head of matauranga Maori. The core of what our job is, is to close the gap between our people and their taonga. - After a lifetime of helping to connect whanau with their long-lost Tonga, it's time for Migoto to make her own connections. It's not going to be easy with the few clues she has ` almost 40 years old. Migoto's search starts where it all began ` in the Hawke's Bay. - This is the starting point for me for this journey. It's important for me to have my waewae on the whenua before embarking on this kaupapa. This morning we're going over to our old homestead, which is just north of Lake Tutira. - Migoto doesn't know how often Nakamoto had shore leave in Napier, but the letters reveal her father had met her koro. - My grandparents were still living here at the time. It was my mother introducing my father to my koro. Apparently it was a very special encounter. They got on like a house on fire, like they knew each other for` you know, forever. Knowing that my father walked on this whenua and I guess wananga'd with my koroua as well as a really good feeling. In terms of piecing all the clues together, the port's a really integral place. That whole port reminds me of Nakamoto. - Migoto's pinning her hopes on an old friend of her mum's who might have information about her dad. - I feel quite emotional about meeting Yvonne Cosford today. - You are very much like your mom. And the last time I saw you were... just a baby. - Do you remember Mum talking about Nakamoto ` my dad? - I remember her when she was pregnant with you, telling me he was off the Sunny Napier and was a Japanese guy. - Mixed race couples, particularly Maori and Japanese. do you think it was anything unusual in that time? - No, there was a lot of girls going out with Japanese boys and Korean boys, some English boys. But yeah, it was fun times. I wish I could help you more. I really do because everybody needs to know their heritage. - Mm. - So good luck with your search. - Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. - Migoto was only 3 the last time she actually saw her father. - One of the most vivid memories that I have is when he left at the port and waving to him on the ship. The ship was pulling away, and Mum was upset and crying, and I didn't know why. TEARFULLY: This is really special for me, standing here and seeing the space where they were many, many moons ago. The beginning and ending of their relationship was in that exact place. Mum never fell in love after that. - Next ` Migoto sets off for Japan in search of her father. - It's really important for me to go and just take a chance and go there and do it. - Making the trip to Japan is a very personal journey for Migoto Eria. She'll be leaving her whanau behind, so before she left, she took them to see a slice of Japan in the Kaitoke Valley just out of Wellington. (TRANQUIL MUSIC) - It's definitely a great feeling being with my whanau. I feel like we were in Japan, but we're not; we're in Aotearoa. - Beautiful. - This is the right time to be doing this ` being a bit older, being a mum, married now, and particularly after my mother's passing, time's very short. - Migoto Eria is about to embark on a journey she's dreamt about for most of her life ` travelling to Japan to try and find her father. - Oh, this is ataahua. Wow. - And she has the full support of her husband, Tom, and their 12-year-old son, Tomoana. - How do you feel about it? - TOMOANA: I feel excited. - Really? - Yeah. - They've only shown me support, and they understand how big this is and important. That's nice, darling. See your reflection. It would be wonderful for my father to know he has a Maori mokopuna, and to tell him that. (TRANQUIL, TINKLY MUSIC) This is a really big opportunity for me, and it's worth taking the step. It's worth a chance. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) - This is Migoto's first visit to Japan. - It's been a bit surreal. Surreal and pretty amazing. A little bit nervous, I guess. Just a dream to be here in person. I'm really happy that I'm here. So happy. (HUBBUB) I'm not too sure why it's taken me this long. I didn't feel like I had a connection. (GROUP SING IN JAPANESE) It's all very overwhelming all at once. There's a lot of new experiences that I'm soaking up like a sponge. (STIRRING MUSIC) - It's important to understand just how difficult the search for Migoto's father is. The information she has is almost 40 years old. Osamu Nakamoto is a common name here in Japan, and she's trying to find him in a country of 120 million people. There's no doubt the odds are stacked against her. His last letter to Migoto's mother, Rangi, was from the late 1980s. We don't know his date of birth or if he's even still alive. But we do have that old address book of her mother's. - My name is Koichi Muro... - To help us track down Nakamoto, we get help from Japanese genealogist Koichi Muro. Koichi, from the addresses that we gave you, what information were you able to find? - SPEAKS JAPANESE: - We've hit a dead end. Her father no longer lives at this address. But Migoto wants to go to the house anyway, even though it's four hours' away in the seaport city of Tomakomai. She wants to see where her father once lived. - They thought of, 'Well, my papa walked on this ground,' and seeing the sunset that he had seen so many times, really special. Tomakomai as a sister city of Napier is even more special because I grew up in Napier. - Tomakomai Port is where her father worked. He was an engineer on ships like these in the 1980s. - Seeing the kaimahi on the ships, I thought about Nakamoto a lot. Think about how long they've been on the water, how long they've been waiting to come home. I just see shades of my papa watching them. Nakamoto sailed the world. He wrote to Mum from all over the world, not just from Japan. There's an ahua to sea life ` what it does to human beings. It just means that you're not on one place. And I think that was my papa. He wasn't in one place for a long time. Arriving here in Tomakomai, there's this one question ` Where are you, Nakamoto? I'm here. Are you here? (PENSIVE MUSIC) (PHONE LINE RINGS) - TOM: Hey, love. - TOMOANA SHOUTS: Mum! - (CHUCKLES) Hi, my darling. I miss you. - Are you in Japan? - I'm in Japan. I'm in Tomakomai. That's quite special for Mum ` coming in to Tomakomai, cos this is one of Nakamoto's kaingas, eh. It's a bit of a seaside town. Real industrial. So, yeah. Apopo, going to this address. - How do you feel about that, love? - Yeah, I don't know. A little bit` I think I'm a little bit nervous. - Yeah. - Just a little bit. - How far away is the whare from where you're staying? - It's not far at all. I mean, I think I think Tomakomai's not very big. SPEAKS JAPANESE: (LIGHT MUSIC) - This is the trip her father would have taken from the port to his home each day. - I have this huge pull to be in a place where Nakamoto's been. That's really important to me. You know, in connection to the whenua. (INDICATOR CLICKS) (DRIVER SPEAKS JAPANESE) (TENSE MUSIC) - Her father wrote many of the precious letters from her childhood from this whare. - This is like a dream ` knowing that this was my papa's house and that he was here one time. I guess the sadness is really about, um... wondering where he is. I guess I hadn't realised how much this ` being here ` would impact me. Sort of feels like that moment before you go on to a marae and you're standing at the waharoa and waiting to be welcomed in. In one way or another, this is like my karanga too. Um... But that I can't hear a response. - Migoto is no closer to finding her father. Coming up ` - I've spent my whole life being programmed to not raise my hopes. (DEVICE CLICKS AND BEEPS) (SIREN WAILS) Heya. Oh, no, the goose is getting me! MAN OVER RADIO: Car 51. Yeah, CMH One Alpha receiving. Hey, look, reason I pulled you over is you've been speeding. MAN: I was only a few k's over. WOMAN: Same speed as everyone else. Come on, bro! I wasn't going that fast. How about you catch some real criminals? A few k's over... I'm not hurting anyone... (HORN BLARES) Hey, look, reason I pulled you over is you've been speeding. (GENTLE MUSIC) (PENSIVE MUSIC) - Migoto Eria's trip to Japan isn't turning out how she hoped. - I've been thinking about that possibility of him not showing up, not only through my whole life, but more intensely since being in Japan. - Her attempt to find her father seems to have come to a standstill. - (SPEAKS JAPANESE) - Our genealogist Koichi Mura had no luck finding Migoto's father with the address book. But he has found a telephone number and an old phone book. (PHONE LINE RINGS) And remarkably, somebody answers. - (SPEAKS JAPANESE) (MAN ON PHONE SPEAKS JAPANESE) - It's a breakthrough we've been waiting for. (HUBBUB) So, Migoto, the reason why we're here right now is our strongest lead has come through. We believe that we have found your papa, Osamu Nakamoto. - (CHUCKLES) - And` - Really? My God. Am I dreaming? Is this real? (LAUGHS) That's probably the most amazing thing I've ever heard in my life. - And he wants to meet Migoto. What's going through your head right now? - EMOTIONALLY: I'm thinking about all the things I really want to tell him. There's an instinctive wanting to know, um... if he'll love me and... and be proud of me as his` as his daughter. Oh my God, I'm not gonna sleep tonight. - The next morning, Migoto travels to Amagasaki outside the city of Osaka, where her father now lives. - Heading out today, there was a lot going through my head. I was feeling quite shaky. In the photos I've grown up with, they're frozen in time, and that's the Nakamoto I've only ever known and remembered. (EXHALES HEAVILY) (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Nice to meet you. I'm glad to see you. - (CHUCKLES) - You happy? - I am now. Long time. - Yeah. - One of the biggest things that was going through my mind was, 'Is that actually him? Is this real?' (WEEPS) - (SPEAKS JAPANESE) - When he had taken out the photo to show me, it was in his pocket, up by his ngakau. You keep this... long time? It was covered in a plastic sleeve for protection, because he handles it all the time. I'd never seen the photo before. That's Mum's writing. - Yes. - My mum had sent that photo to Nakamoto. - Migoto has something to tell him about her mother. - Mama, um, died six years ago. - Mm. - Very sick. And I'm sorry to tell you that. - I'm sorry. - Telling Nakamoto that my mum had passed ` that was` that was hard. I'm glad to know that you are` you are alive. I didn't know. - Mm. - Waited my whole life for now. Yes. - Nakamoto moved here 30 years ago when he quit ship life. - Temples. Understand? - Mm? - Japanese temples. - Mm-hm. - He is keen to show her around the city he lives in. - Oh, beautiful. - Mm. - This whole street just completely lined with really old tawhito whare. How old? 'He sees all, oh, you know, over 500 years old.' And I'm like, what?! (BELLS JINGLE) Hanging out with Nakamoto for the rest of the day, it was pretty cool. Do you like spicy? - No. (CHUCKLES) - Same. (LAUGHS) - See you in the morning. Take care and rest. (POIGNANT MUSIC) (LIGHT MUSIC) - Over the next few days... - Hi, Papa. - ...Migoto gains a better insight into her father's life. - He's quite vibrant, outgoing, healthy. He volunteers for a few places. - The 71-year-old is a well-known and respected man in his community. - Every morning, he runs the traffic crossing for the tamariki in the local kura, so everybody knows him. He's a little bit like that uncle that drives the kohanga van. He's there, and I quite like that, you know. - They're making up for lost time. - He was quite comfortable swinging (LAUGHS) on a swing with me. Is this what it would've been like? (GENTLE MUSIC) (WOMAN SPEAKS JAPANESE) (CHUCKLES) When he was introducing me to one of the neighbours... - (SPEAKS JAPANESE) - Mm. - ...and he's so proud. 'This is my New Zealand daughter,' and they go, 'Whoa!' - (SPEAKS JAPANESE) - To hear that for the first time in Japan ` yeah, pretty cool. Mm. - Nakamoto invites her to his house. - So, went inside. He pulls out this big envelope, and he said, 'I woke up early this morning, and I prepared this for you.' They're from Mum. I recognise my mother's handwriting. - Nakamoto has kept all the letters Migoto's mum sent him. - Before today, I had absolutely no idea whether she'd written back or not. (BOTH CHUCKLE) These are special for me because I still miss my mama. 'I love you and I always have.' That was the sign off for most of the letters. - One more thing Nakamoto has kept ` the phone card he used to call Migoto. But the last time her father tried calling, the number had changed, and he couldn't get through. Migoto isn't sure how her parents' relationship ended. - '85. Is that right? 'He had another relationship after coming back to Japan.' - He has another daughter named Ayumi. - It's not something that he would extend the conversation on. I've sort of just told myself to be a little bit patient. (POIGNANT MUSIC) Papa. Taonga. - Mm. - For you. A taonga... to help you remember. Same. - Yeah. - Mm. So wear all the time. It's been an amazing bond, and he's thinking and feeling a lot. I don't see Japanese hugging at all. But I'm so glad we did. (CHUCKLES) And he was holding on tight too. Really sweet. - An embrace Migoto's been waiting for her entire adult life. - That little girl was holding on. The grief that that tamaiti's held on to for so long is coming out. And it's allowed to. I'm allowed to cry on him. All these years of tears (LAUGHS) finally falling on my papa. This whole experience is absolutely life changing. This has far surpassed what I thought it might be. Really hard for me and harder that he's now starting to express a lot of emotion. - OK. - Take care. Even though he'll be here and I'll be in Aotearoa, we've got full hearts now. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - And this time, it's Migoto who's leaving. - We plan to return with our family for him to meet his grandson. This isn't the end. This is a beginning. I now know you are here. I will come back. - Haramai te korero. We'll see you next week for more from the Hui. Kia mau ki te turanga o Taputapuatea. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e. Captions by Jessie Puru. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 - Ko te reo te take. - Na Te Puna Whakatongarewa Te Hui i tautoko.